Sun Mengmeng, Wu Yingdan, Zhang Jianhua, Zhang Hongchuan, Liu Zemin, Li Mingtong, Wang Chunxiang, Sitti Metin
Physical Intelligence Department, Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, Stuttgart 70569, Germany.
State Key Laboratory of Robotics and Systems, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2024 Aug 6;121(32):e2405095121. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2405095121. Epub 2024 Aug 1.
Magnetic miniature robotic systems have attracted broad research interest because of their precise maneuverability in confined spaces and adaptability to diverse environments, holding significant promise for applications in both industrial infrastructures and biomedical fields. However, the predominant construction methodology involves the preprogramming of magnetic components into the system's structure. While this approach allows for intricate shape transformations, it exhibits limited flexibility in terms of reconfiguration and presents challenges when adapting to diverse materials, combining, and decoupling multiple functionalities. Here, we propose a construction strategy that facilitates the on-demand assembly of magnetic components, integrating ferrofluid droplets with the system's structural body. This approach enables the creation of complex solid-droplet robotic systems across a spectrum of length scales, ranging from 0.8 mm to 1.5 cm. It offers a diverse selection of materials and structural configurations, akin to assembling components like building blocks, thus allowing for the seamless integration of various functionalities. Moreover, it incorporates decoupling mechanisms to enable selective control over multiple functions, leveraging the fluidity, fission/fusion, and magneto-responsiveness properties inherent in the ferrofluid. Various solid-droplet systems have validated the feasibility of this strategy. This study advances the complexity and functionality achievable in small-scale magnetic robots, augmenting their potential for future biomedical and other applications.
磁性微型机器人系统因其在受限空间内的精确机动性以及对多样环境的适应性而引起了广泛的研究兴趣，在工业基础设施和生物医学领域的应用都具有巨大潜力。然而，主要的构建方法是将磁性组件预先编程到系统结构中。虽然这种方法能够实现复杂的形状变换，但在重新配置方面灵活性有限，并且在适应不同材料、组合和解耦多种功能时面临挑战。在此，我们提出一种构建策略，该策略便于按需组装磁性组件，将铁磁流体微滴与系统结构体集成。这种方法能够创建一系列长度尺度从0.8毫米到1.5厘米的复杂固滴机器人系统。它提供了多种材料和结构配置选择，类似于像搭积木一样组装组件，从而允许各种功能的无缝集成。此外，它还引入了解耦机制，利用铁磁流体固有的流动性、裂变/融合和磁响应特性，实现对多种功能的选择性控制。各种固滴系统已经验证了该策略的可行性。这项研究提升了小型磁性机器人可实现的复杂性和功能性，增强了它们在未来生物医学和其他应用中的潜力。
